After years of exclusive BRT, Ottawa built this.

For years Bus Rapid Transit proponents have said that BRT can be just as effective as rail, but at a lower cost. As supposed evidence that rail is unnecessary, for years BRT proponents cited two cities that have relied exclusively on BRT – Ottawa and Curitiba, Brazil.

Alas, in 2001 Ottawa decided it needed trains, so the BRT crowd stopped talking about Ottawa. Curitiba, they said, Curitiba has got the answer.

I wonder what BRT proponents will say now that Curitiba is building a rail system. Apparently, and who could have ever guessed, even the poster children of BRT need rail on some corridors.

As I’ve said before and will no doubt say again: BRT is great on its own terms, but it is not the same as rail service and cannot fully replicate all the things trains can do. We should implement BRT all over the region, but as a way to make surface buses better, not as a cheap substitute for rail.